Winter traction equipment for motor vehicles



March 27, 1928.

P. C. LAPORTE WINTER TRACTION EQUIPMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Feb, 4. 1926 I5 Sheets-Sheet l lrwenmr P LO/JOW/ 6,7075" Ja /2L.

Alttomey a a QP March 27, 1928.

P. c. ILAP'ORTE WINTER TRACTION EQUIPMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Feb. 4. 1926 3 Siesta-Sheet 3 Inventor Attorney March 27, 1928. 1,663,948

' P.- C. LAPORTE WINTER TRACTION EQUIPMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Feb. 4. 1926 3 sheets-sheet s Inventor V W I Patented Mar. 27, 19 28.

PAUL G. LAPQRTE, OF CLAIR, NEWMUNSWIGI, CIHLIDA.

WINTER TRACTION noutmmu'r r203 Morton vnmdhns.

Appliuationfiled February 4, 1926. .Serial No.:85,979.. I

My present invention pertains to motor vehicles, and has for itsv general ob e c't the provision :of an efficient equipment whereby the motive power of the motorvehicle may be utilized 'to .propel the same over snow coveredand ice covered roads and other surfaces. V p p With the foregoing in vminda'tlie invention in all of its detailswill be fully understood from the following description and claims when the same are read in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part of this specification, in which g V Figure 1 is a side elevation showing an automobile chassis and body equipped with the preferred embodiment. of my invention. Figure 2 is a plan viewof the same with the body removed. v

Figure 3 is an'enlarged transverse section taken in 'th'eplane indicated by the -line 33'0f Figure 2. r

Figure 4; isan enlarged detail view showing the portion of the driving connection adjacent to therea-r axle or drive shaft of the improvement. f I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale showing apportion of one of the chains'and also showing a portion of one of the transverse tion bar to the chain. I

Figure dis a fragmentary side elevation or view takenat right angles .to Figure "5 and showing the same parts as inigure '5.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of .the'views of the drawings.

The chassis of the motor vehicle is desig.-- nated by 1, and the body 2 on the chassis 'is connected with the chassis in. the conventional manner or in any other mannercompatible with the purpose of my invention Mounted in the forwardly extending portion *3 of the chassis 1 is a transverse rock shaft 4 from which is hung a transverse swingable cross-head or bar 5. Journaled in the cross-head or bar '5 and adaptedto'be turned about 'heir axes are stems 6 -'on longitudinall-y disposed runners 7, each of the said stems 6 having rearwardly directed crank arms 7* with which is connected the transversely movable connecting means 8 on a steering shaft 9 the latter being preferably of the general type ordinarily used in motor vehicles. Manifestly turningof :the shaft 9 about its axis through the medium traction bars and bringing out the arrangement of said trac-' of a hand wheel or other appropriate means,

will be attended by swinglng of the runners 7 for the proper guidance of the motor ve-j hicle when in motion.

-Arranged under and appropriately con- I nectedwith the rear portion of the chassis 1 are rear runners 10 in parallelism, the said runners 10 bein fixedly connected withrespect to each ot ier through the medium. of

forward and rear transverse bars designated The runners 10 by 11 and 12 ,respective'ly. are of open structure, and interposed between and fixed to the lower and upperlongitudinal portions of the runners are upright struts or plates 13' in which are arcuate slots 14. These slots .14; are for the rece tion and adjustment of the end portion of the rear 'drive shaft 15 of my improvementfthe said drive shaft 15 being equipped at one.

side of the longitudinal center 'of the structure with a balance- -.wheel 16 and "at the opposite side 'of the gear 17,, Figure 4. The said worm gear 17 is disposed in a housing 18 and is meshed with a worm 19 also disposed in .said housingand carried by aFlongitudinall-y disposed shaft-2.0. The shaft- 20 is connected through the medium of an imiversal oint 21 with the rearend of an intermediate shaft 22, and the forward end of the said intermediateshaft22 is connected through an universalfjoint23 with the :rear end of the drive shaft 24; connected in appropriate manner with the motor vehicle engine designated by 25, and which latter may Ibekand preferably is or conventiona'l type. By virtue of the disposition described of the driving connection between the engine shaft and the drive shaftlfi, it will be manifest thatlaccommodation is made for the play :of the traction means of my improvementwhich meansais located in the longitudinal center of the structure andso as .to work in a longitudinal plane between the planes of the runners 10.

Eixed on the driveshaft 1 5 is .a sprocket drum 30 with peripheralteeth 31 adjacent to its ends. The said .drum 3.0 is fixed .to andderivesinotion from the shaft 15.

Connected with and extending downwardly and rearwardly from the forward portion of :the chassis .1 are slotted hangers 40, and appropriately ofsaid hangers :for adjustment purposes .is'

structure with a worm arranged in the-slots through the medium of transverse bolts 54.

The said bolts 54 also serve for the connection of T-heads 55 at the ends of transverse traction bars 56, the said T-heads55 being opposed to the inner efficiency .to the drive belt of the improvement. It willbe readily understood from Figures' Z and 3' that the traction bars 56 connect the two chains, and that the said ment are bars by which are carrie traction bars 56 and chains move together. i

At 60 on opposite sides of the improvement are idler. wheels which are mounted in hangers 61 depending from the side portions of the chassis andare adapted to pre vent undue'upward movement of the chains of the driving belt Arranged longitudinally between the upper and lower stretches of the chains at opposite sides of the driving belt of the imorovefriction rollers 71in engagement withthe upper and lower stretches of the chain; The said bars 7 Oare connected to the lower members of lazy tongs 80, and the upper ends of the uppermembers of the said lazy tongs are connected to the lower ends of retractile springs 81,.the said springs 81 being crossed as clearly shown in Figure 1 and having their upper ends connected to the side portions of the chassis 1'. By virtue of this provision it will be manifest that the bars 70' will be yieldingly pressed downwardly with. a View to holding the lower stretches of the endless chains to their work and thereby increase the traction capacity of the bars 56 on the traction belt; also, that when the said bars 70 are relieved of pressure, the transverse bars56 of the endless belt will glide idly over the snow or icy surface.

In order to enable the driver of the motor vehicle to relieve the pressure on the lower stretches of the endless chains, I provide a pedal lever fulcrumed at 91 on the chassis and fixed with respect -to a transverse shaft. 92'on which are arms 93 and 94, Figure 2, the said arms 93 and 94 being connected to appropriately guide cables 95 which, in turn, are connected to the forward transverse shaft 41 of the'trac'tion means, whereby depression or forward and downward movement of the pedal lever 90 will be attended "by upward and forward movementof the portions of adjacent links '51. as clearly appears in Figures 5' and 6, whereby the traction bars 56 are main{ ,tained at right angles to the line of traverse of the chain stretches so as to lend increased to convertithe vehicle into a:

anti.

said transverse shaft in the hangers 40', and

this against the action of the means for-- return to the position shown in Figure 1, and

incident to the'sa'id movement of the lever 90, the retractile springs 81 in conjunction with the lazytongs will press the lower stretches of the endless chains downwardly.

so as to hold thesaid endless chains or rather the lower stretches thereof in parallelism an'dm contact with the surface or road being traversed by the motor vehicle, so

that the traction belt will operate to the best advantage in the propulsion of the vehicle.

'It will be gathered from' the foregoing that my improvementas a whole is simple, compact and efficient, and that it isreadily applicable to a motor vehicle "chassis and body as hereinbefore described. It will also be manifest that my improvement is well adapted in all respects to withstand the rough usage 'toiwhich automobile appurtenances are ordinarily subjected, and that the improvement as a whole maybe andpreferably is detached from the chassis and dis associated from the body when it is desired wheeled vehicle of the ordinaryautomobile type.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear and "exact understand ing of the said embodiment. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to structural details and details of arrangement, my invention being defined by my appendedclaims within the scope of which changes in structuresand' changes in arrangement may be made without departure from my invention. 7

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent,"

1. The combination'withthe,chassis of a motor vehicle, ofrear runners fixed to the chassis, front runners connected with .the chassis and controllable by the steering means of the motor vehicle, a drive shaft carried by therear runners, a sprocketdrum fixed to said drive shaft, a connection between the drive shaft and the shaft of the engine of the motor vehicle, hangers on the forward portion of the chassis, idler sprocket gears connected with said hangers, a traction belt having spaced and parallel chains engaged with the sprocket teeth of the drum and also engaged with the teeth of said idler sprocket gears, and also having transverse traction bars interposed between andconnected to the chains, bars'arranged between the upper and lower stretches of the chains and having anti-friction means in en.- gagement with the chains, means for yieldingly pressing said bars downwardly, interposed between and Connected with the bars and the chassis, a lever disposed in the body, a connection between the said lever and the forward portion of the traction belt for forward movement of said forward portion, and means for raising the forward portween the drive shaft and the shaft of the engine of the motor vehicle, hangers on the forward portion of the chassis, idler sprocket gears connected with said hangers,

a traction belt having spaced and parallel chains engaged with the sprocket teeth of the drum and also engaged with the teeth of said idler sprocket gears, and also having transverse traction bars arranged between and connected to the chains, bars interposed between the upper and lower stretches of the chains and having anti-friction means in engagement with the chains, means for yieldingly pressing said bars downwardly, interposed between and connected with the bars and the chassis, a lever disposed in the body, a connection between the said lever and the forward portion of the traction belt for forward movement of said forward portion, and means for raising the forward portion of the traction belt on forward movement thereof the said means for yieldingly pressing the bars downwardly including lazytongs members connected with and extending upwardly from the bars, and crossed retractile springs interposed between and connected to the upper lazytongsmembers and the chassis,

3. In an organized mechanism for the purpose described and in combination, a

motor vehicle chassis, including an engine, runners on said chassis and spaced apart, a drive shaft connected with and extending transversely between said runners, a sprocketdrum fixed to said shaft and arranged intermediate of the runners, a traction belt having endless sprocket chains passed about the toothed portion of said drum, a balance wheel on the drive shaft at one side of the sprocket drum, a housing about the drive shaft at the opposite side, of'

the sprocket drum, a worm gear in said housing and fixed to said shaft, a worm meshed with the worm gear and arranged in the housing, a shaft fixed to said worm, and an intermediate shaft connected through an universal joint with the last-named shaft and also connected through an universal joint with the drive shaft of the engine.

4. The combination with the chassis of a motor vehicle, of rear runners attached to the chassis, front runners connected with the chassis and controllable by the steering means of the motor vehicle, a drive shaft carried by the rear runners, a sprocket drum fixed to said drive shaft, a connection between the drive shaft and the shaft of the engine of the'motor vehicle, rearwardly and downwardly extending slotted hangers on upward and forward movement of said shaft on depression of the pedal lever.

In testimony whereof Iafiix my signature.

PAUL C. LAPORTE. 

